Oil hits a record high
NEW YORK - Oil futures settled at a record high above $78 Tuesday on expectations that crude inventories fell last week and reports of new violence in Nigeria, a large oil producer and key supplier to the United States.

People in Business: Jason Harrison
Amarillo native Jason Harrison has joined the Amarillo Convention & Visitor Council as the convention sales manager covering the association market.

Gold in the gutter
WASHINGTON - In the affluent Chevy Chase neighborhood here, the thefts began when the spring rains arrived.

Murdoch seals deal
NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch has won in his bid to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp.

Green machines
All across the country, thousands of truck engines are idling, wasting costly and precious diesel fuel.

Wind energy making strides in area
Developers, landowners and government officials are ready to get on with developing wind energy in the Panhandle, but there always seems to be one more step.

People in Business
David Graf will return to Texas Cooperative Extension as agriculture agent in Sherman County.

Two-time defending football champ picked fourth
Despite winning the past two Lone Star Conference football championships and returning all-Americans on both sides of the ball, West Texas A & M was picked fourth among the six teams in the South Division.

Is popular red tea really a tea?
First there was black tea, then green tea and white tea. But the newest tea on supermarket shelves is red tea. Several distributors, including Lipton and Republic of Tea offer red tea in bags and loose form, and Snapple has a bottled red tea.

International Club plans meeting Monday
The Amarillo International Club will meet 7 p.m. Monday, not its usual first-Tuesday-of-theThe Amarillo International Club will meet 7 p.m. Monday, not its usual first-Tuesday-of-the-month date, in the Commons at Amarillo High School, 4225 Danbury St.-month date, in the Commons at Amarillo High School, 4225 Danbury St.

Gardens sponsoring seminar
Sign up for the two-day workshop/seminar, The Art and Science of Flowers, at the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, 1400 Streit Drive. Learn how to draw, paint and understand floral structure with artist Cynthia Padilla. Classes will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 15 and 16. Cost is $175.

How to know when, how much to water
You may water your plants with the best of intentions, but it's good to periodically check up on yourself, to make sure you're doing a good job.

Honey is the buzzword
Honey is made when bees swallow, digest and regurgitate nectar they gather from flowers.

Dr. Gott: Avoid surgery; nasal polyps triggered by allergies
Dear Dr. Gott: Perhaps you would address a problem I have: nasal polyps. They are so severe that the polyps block off my nasal passages completely and have to be removed surgically with a high-speed cutting tool with suction. This has been going on for about six years, and removal must be done as often as every six to 15 months. There doesn't appear to be any cure, just cutting them out when they become too large and block my breathing. I have had allergy testing done and nothing major showed up. I hope you know more about this subject.

Inverted gardening
CANYON - For every gardener, there's a technique. Take tomato growing. There's the in-ground method, the in-bucket method and the upside-down method.

Dear Abby: Aging couple resents family's interference
Dear Abby: I am a 79-years-young woman living in my own home with my 84-year-old husband, "Jack." Jack was an avid gardener who enjoyed tending our large yard full of roses, fruit trees, and a variety of flowers and vegetables. During the past year, however, Jack's health has deteriorated and he can no longer do much around our home.

Heloise: Organize; throw outdated stuff out
Dear Heloise: During my preparations for moving, I was appalled at how I had overlooked so many food items that had become outdated. While trying to determine some of the tiny expiration dates on the bottoms of spice bottles, I thought of a way to make it easier to see and remember the expiration dates: use peel-off computer labels!

Rio Grande Valley edges Dillas, 4-3
The Amarillo Dillas were unable to string together back-to-back wins against the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings on Tuesday night, falling, 4-3, in Harlingen before 950 fans in United League Baseball action.

Dusters fire Perdue
Steve Perdue was fired as head coach of the Amarillo Dusters on Wednesday afternoon following the team's 3-13 record that included seven losses by a touchdown or less.

Dillas heat up late to defeat RGV, 7-3
The Amarillo Dillas scored four runs during the final two innings to defeat first-half United League Baseball champion Rio Grande Valley, 7-3, in a Wednesday afternoon game played in front of 885 fans at Historic Harlingen Field.

Rangers stay busy at trade deadline
Eric Gagne gave up a closing job in Texas for a setup role in Boston in the biggest trade Tuesday before baseball's deadline to make deals without waivers.

Rangers top Indians in 10
CLEVELAND - Rookie reliever Jensen Lewis failed to get an out on consecutive bunts by Texas, and the Rangers took advantage with three runs in the 10th inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians, 9-6, Wednesday night.

Texas MLB: McCarthy ends drought
CLEVELAND - Brandon McCarthy won for the first time in more than two months, beating 13-game winner Fausto Carmona and leading the trade-happy Texas Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

USTA junior tournament set for Amarillo
More than 110 tennis players, including 49 from the Amarillo area, will participate in the Junior Zone Advancement Tournament this weekend at Amarillo National Tennis Center and Austin Tennis Center.

Brett Hoffman: Panhandle has its share of rodeo standouts
Country music singer George Strait is no stranger to the spotlight, but one May afternoon he wasn't really in the mood. His mind was on competing in the Windy Ryon Memorial Roping in Fort Worth, and the thought of having his focus interrupted by an interview did not appear to sit well with him.

Registration begins for Hoop 10 league
The fourth annual Hoop 10 fall basketball league will begin play Sept. 14 and will wrap up Oct. 13. The games will be played on weekends, with all Saturday games scheduled at Sudan High School and Sunday games scheduled at de Zavala Middle School in Amarillo.

EEOC: NBA violated law with ban on Tarpley
HOUSTON - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is siding with ex- Dallas Maverick Roy Tarpley in his legal fight for reinstatement by the NBA, which banned him in 1995 for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

AISD: Ratings not conclusive
Only Tascosa High School received the state's lowest rating among campuses in Potter and Randall counties, but ratings do not show the whole picture, an official with Amarillo Independent School District said.

Tax zone budget created
Just call the board members of the city's first tax increment reinvestment zone the Wal-Mart greeters of Amarillo downtown redevelopment.

Child's mother seeks deal
The mother of a 20-month-old who died from hot water burns is asking to be granted immunity in the criminal case against her boyfriend, the prime suspect in the child's death.

Block party grows
The Polk Street Block Party has invited some neighboring streets to join in this year's bash.

Class Act: CHS' Longhorn Buddy Program, August 2007
The Longhorn Buddy Program kicked off at Caprock High School this semester and it's already enjoying incredible success. On Wednesdays, a group of 20 students join Caprock's Functional Living students (students with special needs) for lunch. Everyone involved wears matching shirts with a design that one of the Functional Living students drew.

Police seek public's aid
Amarillo police still are looking for the people responsible for the robberies of two Access Mobile locations.

Public input sought on transit route
The Advisory Commission for People With Disabilities and the city Transit Department will conduct a public meeting at noon Thursday to discuss changes to fixed bus routes.

Plea spurs suit
A lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Paramount Baptist Church stemming from the guilty plea of a former Sunday school teacher and child care worker in August 2006 on four counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact. The suit alleges Paramount church officials were aware of complaints about Patrick K. Farmer's indecent behavior toward children for several years prior to his guilty plea but did nothing to prevent him from supervising children or being in their presence alone.

Home winner last to know Man stunned by his luck
The only ones more confused than Minh Pham were the 200 or so at the Big Texan who, at the end of the home giveaway Sunday afternoon, were wondering just who and where this lucky so-and-so was. As it oddly turned out, the winner of a new $200,000 home was notified by cell phone - from 50 feet away.

Vehicles plunge into river
as bridge collapses
MINNEAPOLIS - An interstate bridge jammed with rush-hour traffic suddenly broke into huge sections and collapsed into the Mississippi River Wednesday, pitching dozens of cars 60 feet into the water and killing at least seven people.

Two Abernathy siblings treated for botulism
LUBBOCK - One of two West Texas siblings confirmed to have botulism poisoning from canned food involved in a nationwide recall remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday, a hospital official said.

State deadline looms
Amarillo is speeding along in an attempt to get a red-light camera contract in place before Sept. 1 to prevent money from heading to the state.

Column - William McKenzie: How subsidies look to W. Texas family farmers
DALLAS - When I started poking into Congress' debate on the farm bill, I recalled a conversation I had with some West Texas farmers several years ago. They grew cotton and peanuts, and it struck me that they didn't embody the big agribusinesses many urban Americans envision when we think of Washington subsidizing farmers.

Nonprofit briefs
Panhandle MAMAs - the Panhandle Plains Chapter of Mothers Against Methamphetamines - will mark the opening of its new office at 3405 S. Western, Suite 204, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The organization, dedicated to ending the senseless waste of life caused by methamphetamine abuse, will have free hot dogs, soft drinks, door prizes, a silent auction and other activities at its open house. Information: (806) 331-6068 or www.panhandlemamas.org.